Freedoms and our expressions of religion

Published 5:32 pm, Wednesday, July 4, 2012

To the editor:

On this Fourth of July, it seems appropriate to consider again the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The question being argued today is whether that amendment permits favorable expression of religion in public life.

Those who claim such expression is not permitted should review the fourth stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, widely performed through the rest of the century, and adopted as the national anthem by act of Congress in 1931. That’s a fairly broad swath of American history. Here is the text of that stanza as it appears in Key’s fair copy:

“O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand

Between their lov’d home & the war’s desolation!

Blest with vic’try & peace may the heav’n rescued land

Praise the power that hath made & preserv’d us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto - “In God is our Trust,”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free & the home of the brave.”

That stanza makes it very clear what Key and his fellow Americans thought about publicly expressed religion throughout the 19th century and well into the 20th.

The current attempt to expel God from the public sphere does not appear until around 1960, when secular intellectuals began claiming that the First Amendment means now and has always meant what it had never meant during the first 169 years of its existence.

If those individuals succeed, no principle of law is safe from their faddish whims and those of an arrogant judiciary.

Donn Taylor

The Woodlands

Do the right thing: Withdraw annexation

To the editor:

The sentiments of Jackie W. Chance Sr. in support of April Sound’s fight to not be annexed by the City Council of Conroe were in the spirit of the founders of our great nation. I, for one, believe that our neighborhood owes a debt of gratitude to you, sir, for clearly expressing many of our common refrains against the nondemocratic aspects of annexation. ... We do not get a vote in this matter ... but with courage this can change too.

Last year, on the west side of College Station, several neighborhoods rose up and demanded a vote on the matter to stop being annexed. They had a courageous state representative include a simple bracketed bill in larger legislation that stated that the annexation would only go forward with the approval of the residents. The annexation effort was effectively tabled for good.

An effort like this takes political courage to achieve because inevitably you will step on someone’s toes. I believe that Conroe’s political intrigues with regard to land, water and power politics issues between local and state elected officials is muddling a clear political route to victory.

Who will have the courage to present my simple bill to stop the forced annexation by Conroe? If all four of our statewide elected officials presented the bill in a show of unity (the common practice of both chambers is to not question representatives’ wisdom on local matters), this bill would pass easily. This is the most clear path to stop the annexation cold.

Other measures will require time and money and involve legal procedures that I will not discuss until absolutely necessary. But all of them mean that we will have to spend much time and treasure on this effort — there is a clearer path that requires that we make our Republican elected officials act like Republicans — not RINOs.

1. Any annexation in Texas be accompanied by a vote unless it is voluntarily done.

2. Do not enter into any agreement with Conroe that has the Strategic Partnership Designation — other designations could be reasonably arranged, i.e. water sharing.

To not do either thing will put us on the hook at some future date to the city of Conroe. To my neighbors, I humbly suggest that this strategy will achieve the greatest results in the shortest amount of time and could end this debacle rather soon. Let us make our representatives represent us — the people of Lake Conroe and the city of Conroe. But if our state and locally elected officials choose the easy route over what is right then they do not deserve to represent their constituents as Republicans. It is my hope that they represent the people and not parochial interests.

To the Conroe City Council, I say, end this now. The residents of April Sound want this to end — have a simple vote to stop this abomination against the spirit of Texas and we shall be your friends and partners to solve any problem which may face our area in our abundant future. You have an $18 million surplus — this annexation smacks of undemocratic greed. Prove me wrong to the people of your city — withdraw the annexation of April Sound and surrounding areas.